‘There’s a choice’: 11 Minnesota lawmakers face primary challenges
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On a sweltering July morning, Lynette Dumalag rallied campaign supporters in the parking lot of a local community center before spreading out to knock doors in the suburb just west of Minneapolis.
Clad in her bright purple campaign shirt and equipped with a trunk full of sunscreen, water and campaign literature, the former St. Louis Park city council and planning commission member ticked off recent endorsements in the race including the two state representatives in the area, mayors of Hopkins and St. Louis Park and local elected officials.
“There’s momentum here,” Dumalag said.
Dumalag is challenging state Sen. Ron Latz for a seat representing St. Louis Park, Hopkins and part of Edina in the Minnesota Senate. As she knocked doors in the district, she said she frequently gets asked about why she’s taking on an incumbent who’s served two in the chamber for two decades.
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“This is how democracy works,” Dumalag said. “Candidates, when you're elected, you constantly have to ask for your job, and this is a way that you can gut check what you're doing is really meeting the community and the community needs.”
Dumalag isn’t alone in taking a run for a legislative seat currently held by someone in her party.
Across Minnesota, 11 state lawmakers face primary challenges from candidates aiming to bring fresh faces to the Capitol. Six are in districts held by Republicans, and five are held by Democrats.
The districts reliably support the party currently in power there, so next Tuesday’s results probably won’t shift seats to the other side. But challengers could bring in lawmakers who are positioned closer to the political right or left than the incumbents they’re looking to replace.
In both the DFL and Republican parties, challengers say they’re better connected to their communities. Three-term Republican Sen. Paul Utke, of Park Rapids, is being challenged by second-term Rep. Mike Weiner in northern Minnesota. Another three-term Sen. John Jasinski from Faribault also faces a primary challenge from Crystal Alan.
Some urban and suburban DFL legislators face party rivals, too. Sen. Omar Fateh faces two challengers in his Minneapolis district – Jeanelle Austin and Brenda Short. The winner will move on to the General Election without a Republican opponent. Rep. Mohamud Noor, a fourth-term human services committee co-chair from Minneapolis, is also facing a challenge from Adburrahman Mahmud.
Dumalag is a first generation American with parents who came to St. Louis Park from the Philippines. She was active in the community’s response to the federal immigration enforcement surge over the winter. That’s how many supporters said they got to know her, and part of the reason why many local officials have backed her campaign.
The affordable housing advocate said she got in the race when a measure dealing with income discrimination was pulled from a state housing bill. She said Latz should’ve fought harder to keep it in.
“I thought, ‘I think it's time.’ It's new voices that are coming in and reflecting the community that we are,” Dumalag said. “For the first time in 20 years, there's a choice, right? There's a choice.”
Latz, the incumbent who has held the seat for two decades, tells voters that experience matters. He touts his position leading the Senate Judiciary and Public Safety Committee.
“In any job, there's a learning curve, right?” he said. “And often, when you start out, you don't know what you don't know. And it's especially the case in something as unique as the legislative body.”
He said getting a good grip on process, customs and how to work with colleagues at the Capitol takes time. As he met with voters, Latz highlighted his legislative record: successfully implementing new restrictions on firearms; attempting to put guardrails on ICE officers and create a pathway for Minnesotans to hold them accountable. He said much of that work left undone would be top priority if he’s reelected.
“So the question, really, I think, is: Should we change horses now, when Minnesota is under the greatest threat we've ever been under from the federal government?” Latz said.
While the local DFL organizing unit didn’t endorse in the legislative race, the Senate DFL Caucus has been supporting Latz. Senate Majority Leader Erin Murphy, DFL-St. Paul, said she and other members of her caucus have been knocking doors in the district.
“When I think about where we are in America and the challenges that we're going to face in Minnesota, I want that level of integrity, that level of skill and foresight as a part of the work that we're going to do in the next chapter of Minnesota,” Murphy said, “and that's why I'm supporting him so strongly.”
Early voting in the primary is underway. Voters will decide who advances to the November election in this race, and many others, on Aug. 11.
